Safety First in 2009

Editor's note: For more details on the AFG Program and general grant resources and articles, check out FireGrantsHelp.com.

With a new year under way, it's time to figure out what we want the theme of the next 12 months to be. For me, it should be safety.

I know that every day and every year we should be focusing on this. However, I am afraid that with budgets tightening, safety might get overlooked in 2009. When money is short, safety can be short changed. But this does not have to happen. The challenge is in finding cost effective ways to provide for the safety of each and every member of your department.

This means we will have to both conserve the limited dollars we currently have and find potential new sources for funding or leveraging of outside resources. While we have the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG), which is focused on safety, there are always more applications than funds. This year I expect this to be the case more than ever. The result is that we may need to pool resources, and all grant applications may have to be on a regional basis in order to be competitive.

Regional efforts may be the only way we are all able to preserve the safety of each of our members as it pools limited resources and ensures we are all using the same playbook. Many regions have already been successful in sharing training, equipment and even personnel. While there are possible geographical limitations and it may be difficult when your next department is 50-plus miles away, it is worth the effort.

Capitalize on experts
Regional training can help you to capitalize on the "experts" throughout the region rather than just your local department. We all have our own specialties and local expertise. Sharing our instructors helps to save limited training budgets while providing a high level of training to keep our members safe. Even if there is a need to bring someone in for specialized training, spreading the cost among four or five departments will make the cost reasonable. Additionally, training together may open the door toward making regional responses possible.

While the sharing of regional equipment may be difficult over large areas, it is a way to make up for major shortages. If you cannot afford to purchase an engine or ladder truck, sharing may be the only option. Unfortunately this may lead to longer response times, but locating equipment centrally within a region can ensure you have what is needed for a safe response. Specialized equipment such as hazmat trucks may only be possible through regional efforts.

Personnel sharing may be natural throughout a region as many members work in communities other than the town they live in. This type of membership sharing may help you to meet minimum safe response standards, especially during the day. If you are training together and sharing equipment as a region, then there will not even be a need to retrain these members. They can have a "primary" membership in their home department for record keeping but are able to respond throughout the area.

Regional programs may be the only way we are able to maintain a safe response in 2009. The pooling of resources not only saves money but can also make us more effective. There is a reason why the AFG prefers regional programs and it is exactly for these types of cost benefits. Together we can afford to be safe and hopefully provide a better level of service to the communities we protect.